Munson and me

Back in 1995 I called Larry Munson‘s old WSB talk show, masquerading as an overly sensitive Bulldogs fan who saw “biasness” against UGA everywhere he looked.

“Roy in Midtown, go ahead.” I stayed in character for about five minutes, quite an achievement. Larry indulged me as he had thousands of other Roys over the years, with patience and good humor.

How good was Larry Munson? He made the Marion Campbell Falcons interesting.

“Shotgun. Redgun. Toss to John Settle and … he loses two yards. Man, the 49′ers are killing us up front.”

Like the great Skip Caray and Ernie Johnson Sr., there was nothing manufactured in Larry’s delivery or persona. They were homers but not shills. That’s a big distinction, often missed.

Most importantly, he was a character, and characters are always endearing — even when they’re 84-year-old men soliciting pretty gals for Larry’s movie club.

“I had a couple of guys who fish with me who scouted girls for this group … and recently I had rehab on my knee and I went for months to the clinic. I saw six [female employees] there I put in the group.”

Why are looks important?

“I don’t know,” he replied. “It’s better to have them attractive, but more than anything else, they are good kids.”

But attractive.

“One of the swimmers was put on the [invitation] list, and I hope she comes today because she is literally stunning,” he said before the movie began. “I wish she could come so you could see her.”